About Pop Gymnastik

I'm Jessie and I run/ am Pop Gymnastik. After spending years hating gyms and feeling like exercise was an evil necessity I couldn't find the motivation for, a move to Amsterdam and a 9 euro an hour job in an Irish Pub prompted me to do a Barre Teacher Training Course so that I could get work and exercise done in one go - before Pop Gymnas

I'm Jessie and I run/ am Pop Gymnastik. After spending years hating gyms and feeling like exercise was an evil necessity I couldn't find the motivation for, a move to Amsterdam and a 9 euro an hour job in an Irish Pub prompted me to do a Barre Teacher Training Course so that I could get work and exercise done in one go - before Pop Gymnastik, I didn't like either much.

Unexpectedly, I discovered I loved movement when it wasn't around gym bros and it was done to solid beats. Soon after I started teaching Barre, I created 80s Aerobarre, a Barre infused version of Pop Gymnastik, and it (thankfully) went off. Soon I was teaching it in fitness studios, nightclub, parks  and function centres and it became one of the most popular workouts in the city.

On my return to Melbourne in 2020 I completed my Certificate III and IV in Fitness, a WETS Aqua Aerobics Teacher Training and Barre Body's Mat Pilates and Reformer Teacher Training. I've spent the last few years not only teaching Pop Gymnastik under various names at different Fitness studios, but also Aqua Aerobics, Pilates, Barre, Strength and HIIT class, as well as working with individuals as a Personal Trainer. 

I'm not a trained dancer (I have a total of 12 Irish Dance lessons from when I was 12 under my belt and that's it) - I make all the 'routines' up by cutting and pasting together bits from 80s aerobics videos on YouTube. I love dancing but I get frustrated with the 'stopping and learning' bit of most dance classes (hello fellow  ADHDers!!)

I'm not a trained dancer (I have a total of 12 Irish Dance lessons from when I was 12 under my belt and that's it) - I make all the 'routines' up by cutting and pasting together bits from 80s aerobics videos on YouTube. I love dancing but I get frustrated with the 'stopping and learning' bit of most dance classes (hello fellow  ADHDers!!) so Pop Gymnastik dance moves are VERY simple and VERY fun. I am incredibly serious about making these classes incredibly unserious. More than anything else, I want people to have fun because a lot of exercise sucks and it's so nice to see a bunch of smiles (rather than death stares) in the mirror while people are sweating.

I get embarrassingly emotional about Pop Gymnastik because everywhere I've run it, it hasn't been just an 'exercise class'. It's become a real community, which feels rare and special for right now. I feel so lucky to have made so many of my close friends teaching this class and I love that participants bring their grandma, their best friend, their dad or their partner to class (yay for intergenerational friendships!!). Come for a class, stick around for a chat and sometimes a beer or two.